Stopping a cat from shedding

[Eulogy]

Does anyone here know how to prevent (or at least significantly slow) a longhair cat from constantly shedding?

[Turin]

Shave it?

But more seriously, I've owned a bunch of cats in my life, and pretty much the only way to reduce shedding is frequent grooming (although why anyone would want a longhair cat is beyond me). There are nice wire brushes for this, and most cats I've had love being brushed anyway, so it's good pet-owner "quality time."

[weemadando]

Brush it as often as you can. That's about it.

Otherwise shaving is an amusing if temporary option if you don't mind your cat hating you for the next few months.

[Sea Skimmer]

Can you stop your own hair from falling out bit by bit? If you can, then forget about the cat and make millions selling your method to balding men. c

But anyway as has been said grooming will keep the hair from spreading all over your home, but you cannot physically reduce the amount of hair the animal produces and then sheds. If you shave the animal, which I STRONGLY recommend against in the case of a cat, then the hair will grow back as quick as it ever has.

[Drewcifer]

Brush it as often as you can. [....]

With the caveat that if its fur gets matted, you're brushing it too often. That might seem obvious, but my first reaction was to brush our cat more, making the problem worse until we figured it out (which was the vet saying "stop brushing your cat so much").

[Lord Insanity]

All humor aside cutting a cats whiskers will cause the animal phyisical pain. That is why a cat will hate you for months after shaving it. That's assuming it suffers no other ill effects too. As far as the OP there really is no good way to reduce the shedding of a cat. Even those with pelts rather than hair still shed albeit not any where near as much.

[LadyTevar]

Buy a Sphinx or other so-called 'Shed-less' catbreed.

[MKSheppard]

Shave it.

[Turin]

Christ... folks, I was kidding about shaving the cat. And LI, who said anything cutting the whiskers? Those aren't fur, you know. Geez.

Buy a Sphinx or other so-called 'Shed-less' catbreed.

Just out of curiosity, do you know how those cats are with respect to allergens? Do they still shed all the dander that agitates allergies? I developed cat allergies a few years ago, which is why I don't have one now.

[LadyTevar]

Christ... folks, I was kidding about shaving the cat. And LI, who said anything cutting the whiskers? Those aren't fur, you know. Geez.

Buy a Sphinx or other so-called 'Shed-less' catbreed.

Just out of curiosity, do you know how those cats are with respect to allergens? Do they still shed all the dander that agitates allergies? I developed cat allergies a few years ago, which is why I don't have one now.

I've heard that they're better than Furred breeds.. but I can't say if that's true or not.

[Lord Insanity]

Christ... folks, I was kidding about shaving the cat. And LI, who said anything cutting the whiskers? Those aren't fur, you know. Geez.

Sorry, I know some idiot that did cut the whiskers when he shaved his cat. Suffice to say he needed several stitches.

Buy a Sphinx or other so-called 'Shed-less' catbreed.

Just out of curiosity, do you know how those cats are with respect to allergens? Do they still shed all the dander that agitates allergies? I developed cat allergies a few years ago, which is why I don't have one now.

Most cat allergies are from the hair so if the breed has a pelt instead you should be OK. Obviously you would need to be in contact with any type of cat to know for sure.

Full disclosure/shameless plug: My wife and I breed Bengals. My mother is allergic to cats but the Bengals don't bother her when she visits. Most people with cat allergies will fall into that category.

[Drewcifer]

Most cat allergies are from the hair [....]

It's actually a cat's saliva that causes the allergic reaction (specifically, a protein that is also produced by the sebaceous glands in the skin) so the type of fur/hair/pelt doesn't really matter.

[Geodd]

Most cat allergies are from the hair [....]

It's actually a cat's saliva that causes the allergic reaction (specifically, a protein that is also produced by the sebaceous glands in the skin) so the type of fur/hair/pelt doesn't really matter.

Well, it does matter, kinda anyway. Since cats that sheds alot of hair has a more efficient delivery system for their horrifying biological weapon.

[Superman]

I have this same problem with my cat.

The best thing to do is to brush your cat everyday. Don't use one of those plastic gloves; buy an actual wired brush (the light kind) and go at it. Also, you might want to buy better quality food that is designed for cats with shedding problems.

Also, this could be a symptom of a skin disorder. If you can see any "dandruff" on your cat, you might want to take it to the vet and get an expert opinion.

[Lisa]

varnish it, then when the cat sheds it will all be in one piece.

[Lord Insanity]

Most cat allergies are from the hair [....]

It's actually a cat's saliva that causes the allergic reaction (specifically, a protein that is also produced by the sebaceous glands in the skin) so the type of fur/hair/pelt doesn't really matter.

Well after researching this some you are correct that it is a protein in the cat's saliva. (I'm kind of surprised I had not heard this before all things considered. )

Well, it does matter, kinda anyway. Since cats that sheds alot of hair has a more efficient delivery system for their horrifying biological weapon.

That is correct and certainly explains why what I have read on the subject previously attributed the allergy to the hair itself. It also explains why my mother being allergic to most cats doesn't have a reaction to the Bengals we have. The bottom line is still you need to be near any specific breed to know for sure whether it will affect you if your allergic.

[Drewcifer]

It also explains why my mother being allergic to most cats doesn't have a reaction to the Bengals we have.

That's really interesting. The protein in question is present in cat dander (sloughed-off dead skin) as well, not just the hair. Does your mom handle the cats' food dish(es) at all?




I've never seen a Bengal before. Awesome looking cats!

[Napoleon the Clown]

Bengal's are not only awesome looking but awesome acting. They're nuttier than most cats and the few I've met have been quite social.


Brushing a cat out is the most obvious thing to do. Beyond that just try and vacuum and sweep more often. Furry creatures will shed. There's no getting around it.

[His Divine Shadow]

I use sticky tape, the paper based kind you sometimes use to mark off where you are gonna spray paint something. I take a strip and put it up and down over the cat and loose hair sticks, they like it most of the time. I also use a brush regularly. One of my cats can also be bathed without much trouble, this gets alot of hair off and also seems to accelerate further shedding, shortening the shedding period or making it worthwhile to bathe again in a week.

[Oni Koneko Damien]

IIRC, Rex breed cats actually have curly hair which, though it is shed, is impossible to inhale, which prevents the allergic reactions some people have to cat hair.

[Lord Insanity]

That's really interesting. The protein in question is present in cat dander (sloughed-off dead skin) as well, not just the hair. Does your mom handle the cats' food dish(es) at all?

No she doesn't. Normally just being near cats makes her feel like she can't breath or something to that effect. When she visits my house she does not have this problem with the Bengals.

I've never seen a Bengal before. Awesome looking cats!

Yes they are. Not only that if they get really scared or angry you would swear there was a full grown leopard in the house from the sound they make.

[Edi]

That's really interesting. The protein in question is present in cat dander (sloughed-off dead skin) as well, not just the hair. Does your mom handle the cats' food dish(es) at all?

No she doesn't. Normally just being near cats makes her feel like she can't breath or something to that effect. When she visits my house she does not have this problem with the Bengals.

I've never seen a Bengal before. Awesome looking cats!

Yes they are. Not only that if they get really scared or angry you would swear there was a full grown leopard in the house from the sound they make.

One of the reasons Bengals are less allergenic is that they do not have the kind of thick undercoat of fur that most domestic cats have. Their hair is shorter and they do not shed as badly. They also get it in order with far less licking, which means less of the allergenic protein in their fur.

Our cats are ragdoll breed and while their coat gets better with frequent brushing and doesn't mat (even though they are long-haired or semi-longhaired), holy fuck do they shed it like crazy. Fortunately they are fairly docile about being bathed.

EDIT: Oh, and I know all about Bengals being loud when they get annoyed. There was one that took exception to being locked in its cage in a cat show I went to and everyone in that hall knew about it. Hundreds of cats, the whole goddamn Helsinki Ice Hall full of cats and cat owners and paying visitors and the place was literally ringing with this cat's meaows. The owner had to take him out and keep him on a leash or carry him to keep him quiet. And that was just an annoyed protest. I wouldn't want to see a real angry growl out of one.

One of our own cats gets loud enough when angry, when he took exception to Kaljamaha's dog visiting here, it sounded like there was an angry cougar in the bedroom.

[Lord Insanity]

Well Bengals are half Asian leopard. Their muscle and bone structure is far more like a wild cat than a house cat. (they are a bit stronger for it too) Perhaps the protein in question is sufficiently different enough that it doesn't trigger the allergic reaction except in extreme cases. That might be the case with other "exotic" breeds as well. Unfortunately I can't seem to find anything to back up this speculation at the moment.

As far as the noise, one of our females refuses to go near any male except her "partner". We tried to put her in the room with our other male and he hid in the corner while she proceeded to make the neighbors think we had a full grown leopard in the house. Obviously we don't bother trying with her anymore.

[Eulogy]

What about making sure that pet hair doesn't clog the ducts or furnace?

[kinnison]

I ran into someone once that said he handled the shedding problem by vacuum-cleaning the cat, with one of those tools used for small floor areas. Just like brushing it, except the hair and dander didn't get anywhere except the cleaner.

By the way, the cat apparently liked it.